: . . . The
: best I have been able to find is over $7.00 a lineal foot for 1
: x 6 x 20' boards. That was all that was available and the price
: rivals teak and other exotics..

$14 a board foot isn't out of line for long lengths of clear cedar. It really hurts to turn 1/3rd of that into sawdust when ripping the strips. That's why we use cheaper grades and shorter lengths. Way cheaper and a lot of the knots disappear -- they turn into sawdust. The rest of the knots can be removed with judicious cutting. Scarf short, clear, pieces into the few (5 to 7) full length strips you need. Use 5' to 10' pieces for the rest of the building. Plain, square-cut butt joints work fine. If you keep your strips well organized as you rip them you'll have no trouble matching color and grain, making it very difficult to tell where one strip ends and the next one starts.

Look at a Home Depot or Menards for 2x8 cedar boards. At Menardds those tend to be #2 or better, while the 1x6s and other 1x stock tends to be #3 grade. The knots in the lower grade seem to be a desirable visual feature with cedar siding.

You should be able to get good wood for about $4 a board foot. Just throw out the waste.

Hope this helps.

PGJ